


The Alphabet Affair - H

by spikesgirl58



Series: The Alphabet Affair [8]
Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 17:42:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7371400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spikesgirl58/pseuds/spikesgirl58
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It came to him in a dream takes on a whole new meaning for Napoleon.</p><p>Prompts: Hesitate and Hidden!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Alphabet Affair - H

Napoleon crouched behind the pile of boxes and wished, not the first time, that he’d been able to hold onto his communicator and weapon. He felt like a hunted hare. He had no idea where he was headed. The complex was a rabbit warren of dead ends and hidden passages. Perhaps that was their plan to let him wear himself out and then just waltz in and recapture him. 

Napoleon squatted and worked to even out his breathing. There was a droning in his ears and he couldn’t shake Delno Vickrey’s voice.

“You are old, Father William," the young man said,  
“And your hair has become very white;  
and yet you incessantly stand on your head—  
Do you think, at your age, it is right?"

“I’m not old,” Napoleon whispered ferociously. He was in his prime, although there had been a couple of times lately when he not been as fast on the uptake as he could have been. He’d been distracted. Illya had been captured and Napoleon found an inability to push that from his mind. It had led to his capture as well and very nearly his demise at Vickrey’s hand before Illya rescued him.

Then he hesitated. No, wait, he’d escaped… Illya was still missing. Yes, that was right. Illya was the one missing, not him. Napoleon stood stiffly and looked around. There were no THRUSH to be seen. Comforted by that, Napoleon moved out into the corridor and stopped dead.

Hanging in space was Illya or rather Illya’s face. It seemed slightly luminous.

“Who are you?”

“Illya, it’s me!”

“But who **are** you?”

“I’m Napoleon! Your partner! Your --” Napoleon bit his tongue. He’d almost said something he might have regretted. There was no chance that Illya felt the way Napoleon did… or did he? Napoleon was confused, but then he wasn’t. He knew how he felt and surely Illya shared those sentiments. Still he hesitated, afraid to make a mess of it. “Don’t you remember?”

“I remember very little of substance, but then we’re all mad here.” Illya grinned in a way that was distinctly cat like. “You must be mad, too.” 

“How do you know I’m mad?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

“I’m not long for here. I’m escaping.”

“You’re not really.” Illya started to fade from view. “You’re going nowhere.”

“Illya, no! Don’t go! Illya!”

The sudden change in lighting woke Napoleon from his dream, for which he was thankful. Without opening his eyes, he smacked his lips twice to try and rid the dry feeling in his mouth and shifted in his seat. He could hear his fellow passengers slowly coming to life around him. The overheard speaker announced that they were two hours from Los Angeles and that stewardesses would soon be coming through the cabin with breakfast.

He opened his eyes reluctantly, wincing as his seat mate opened the curtains to her window and sunlight shot in, catching him full in the face. 

“Can you believe we are already all the way across the United States?” She asked him rather breathlessly as she peered out her window. “This would have taken days by car.”

“The glories or air travel. Excuse me.” He got up and stretched, walking towards the closest restroom. Having it already occupied was not a surprise, so he passed a few moments chatting with the stewardess as she was making coffee.

“Did you have a good night, sir? You seemed restless.”

“Well, enough, thank you. Your service has been very good.”

“Do you fly frequently?”

“I do.” He smiled at her and watched her face light up. Yup, I still got it. Then the bathroom opened up and he nodded to her as he stepped inside.

He got back just as the service cart was approaching his seat. 

“There you are. I was afraid you’d miss breakfast,” the stewardess said as she watched him sit and take down his tray table. She spread a small cloth over it and placed down salt and pepper shakers. His seat mate was already eating.  
“Was it rude of me not to wait?” She set down her fork and Napoleon shook his head as his tray was set before him. It was a crowded assortment of plates. There was bacon and eggs, fruits, potatoes, toast, milk, coffee, juice and jam. Yet he knew right where to start and reached for his coffee cup. 

“No, of course not.” Napoleon tried to look past the cart to where Illya was seated. The baby, who had wailed for much of the first part of the trip had either finally fallen asleep or the first class cabin had taken matters into their own hands. If this was how he was eating, he could only imagine the pampering Illya was getting. Quite probably caviar, champagne and quail eggs. Suddenly his eggs didn’t look half as tempting.

Slowly he buttered his toast and thought back upon the dream. The Alice in Wonderland elements were clear enough to decipher, this affair seemed rifled with them. But he wondered about the, You are Old, Father William aspect of it. He hadn’t been thinking about his age and he certainly wasn’t in a precarious situation with his health. Medical had cleared him, just as Psych had. He was in as good of shape as ever. Then he remembered the rest of the poem. In the end, the old man proved to his son that he was still force to be reckoned with. Just like the youngest from the poem, Delno Vickrey had no idea what was awaiting him.

Napoleon was more worried about just what was waiting for them 

“Isn’t the food wonderful?” His seat mate asked. She’d finished her eggs and was starting on her O’Brian potatoes “You look a million miles away, Mr. Solo. What are you thinking about?”

He glanced over at her and smiled. “Somehow, I feel like the white rabbit about to go down the rabbit hole.”


End file.
